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Would you pay up to watch ad-free YouTube music videos?

Written by : TNM

The News Minute| August 24, 2014| 7.40 pm ISTYouTube is all set to allow users to watch music videos without the customary ads , albeit for a small fee. This new policy, however, has drawn flak from the network’s music partners, who stand to lose the most from the upcoming changes. Currently, advertisements precede music videos, from which respective labels collect a portion of the advertising revenue.YouTube's Independent partners said that they are forced to agree to unfavourable terms set by YouTube or risk making no money at all. "It's awful that Indies are being treated as second-class citizens by YouTube," said Rich Bengloff, president of the indie label trade group American Association of Independent Music to SFGate.YouTube, a key-platform for artists to gain audiences, is expected to generate an estimated $3.2 billion in ad revenue in 2014, not including subscription, according to a research firm. Even if a fraction of the people jump on to the subscription bandwagon, the company will generate more money than it could ever do through ads.Possible subscription rates haven’t been revealed yet, but it’s only a waiting game until YouTube launches this service to see if users pay up for a little ad-free entertainment.

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